Piggott's jump of 45 feet, 11 3/4 inches in the boys' triple jump gave him first place at the Group AA state track and field championships Friday night at Harrisonburg High School.

"It wasn't one of my good nights," Piggott said before cracking a smile and adding, "good enough to win, I guess." Complete official results were not available by press time.

With the start of the meet delayed nearly two hours because of lightning, the triple jumpers did not begin competing until just after 7:30 p.m., when temperatures had cooled and a slight headwind began blowing.

Piggott's best jump in the preliminaries was disallowed because an official noticed -- after he jumped -- that he was wearing a pair of blue rubber wristbands in violation of Virginia High School League rules. That jump of 45-111/4 didn't count, but Piggott easily advanced to the finals with a third jump of 45-8.

"I had to go out there and do what I had to do," Piggott said.

Brookville's Ethan Nixon took second with a jump of 45-0. Nixon hit that on his first attempt and jumped 44-6 on his second. A hurdles specialist, he passed on his third attempt.